'I want this to be on me' - Matt Taylor takes blame for Bristol Rovers' heavy defeat to Wigan

Matt Taylor has called for any criticism of Bristol Rovers' performance against Wigan Athletic to be directed at him as opposed to his players as the Gas fell to a 4-0 defeat at home on Saturday.

Rovers started the game brightly, as did the Latics, with the opening 15 minutes lively at both ends but the visitors started to dominate before they took the lead from a corner via Joe Hugill in the 20th minute.

Hugill then scored almost a carbon copy of his first as Wigan continued to pile on the pressure before Jensen Weir missed a golden opportunity to make it 3-0 before half-time.

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The visitors did find their third early into the second half as an uncharacteristic mistake from Josh Griffiths handed Thelo Aasgaard a tap-in, effectively killing any chances of a Gas fightback.

A free-kick from Luke Chambers made it four before Taylor Moore saw a straight red card for an off-ball incident with Maleace Asamoah Jr. to rub further salt into the wounds.

On the defeat and performance, Taylor was quick to take the blame ahead of his young squad, saying: "It's my responsibility as to why we didn't defend the first corner well enough and the second one. It's always on the manager and I want this to be on me as opposed to those players because you've probably seen today, I'm not sure the players could quite handle the pressure. We will go behind at home. The biggest challenge for me this season will be how we respond."

On the game itself, the Rovers manager added: "First 15 minutes I thought it was quite a good game. Two teams going at it and then goals do change, not just the state of the game but the way people feel, people perform. A real shock to the system as to how we went under today and how we failed to do the basics of the game first and foremost as the scoreline was going against us.

"It's probably not the time to go into every single detail of it. There's not enough on that pitch, not with enough experience but enough knowhow to get them through it, let alone their teammates. You're looking for leadership and it starts with myself as manager.

"Identical goals in terms of the first two from set-pieces which we've generally been quite strong at so that's a set-up aspect as well as an intent one and then we tried to give them clear direction at half-time just to connect themselves with the pitch, go a little bit back to front and play in the opposition half. We did that from one goal kick and then we throw the ball backwards and we go slow and stodgy with our passing sideways and the opposition pinch it. We can talk about the individual mistakes within it but there were just too many of those unfolded and I never had control of that team probably after the second goal went in."

The Gas will continue to name young starting line ups throughout the season having largely recruited players of that profile. The average age of the Rovers starting line up was 24 with 35-year-old James Wilson the only player in there aged over 30, making the defender an anomaly.

There has been plenty to be excited about with this new group who have won two, drawn one and lost three of their opening six league matches this season but Saturday highlighted the inexperience within the squad as the Gas found it particularly difficult to respond to going behind.

However, although blaming the youthfulness of the team will no doubt be a notion amongst some supporters in the aftermath of the defeat, Taylor doesn't want that to be the case.

"It's easy for us to say younger players but there's still enough experience for that not to happen today," he said. "We will be fragile, and I use that word probably too much because of the general age and make up of the group but then there's enough on that pitch for us to be better in certain moments of the game than we were today. We have to acknowledge that and hold our hands up in relation to that.

"Then probably a bit of a learning one from me to ask them at half-time to go direct. They probably fought their own instincts and got caught in between and that's one thing when you're chasing a game if you get caught in between it looks like such an open game.

"A little bit of learning for me with where they're at but they've also got to understand that we don't have to kick and chase all of the second half, we just need to do it t give us 10 minutes of a solid moment if that makes sense? We just never had that at any stage and then we lost our bodies as well as our minds and our minds as well as our bodies. Taylor Moore's red card is the end of a really painful and brutal day."

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